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Abstract
Guilt has been identified as both an intrapsychic and an interpersonal emotion. The current study presents evidence of the existence of two senses of guilt, deontological and altruistic guilt, induced through different experimental paradigms. Deontological guilt evolves from having slighted moral authority or norms, while altruistic guilt arises from selfish behavior and the distress of others. We hypothesize that specific stimuli would evoke, separately, deontological guilt and altruistic/interpersonal guilt feelings. Two different procedures were used to test our hypothesis, adding two emotions as control conditions (i.e. anger and sadness). Results clearly indicate that two different guilt emotions can be evoked separately, by appropriate stimulation. Findings and possible clinical implications are discussed.
Highlights
We usually experience a feeling of guilt when we recognize ourselves as the cause of another person’s misfortune
Guilt represents the emotional result of a conflict between our introjected moral authority rules and values, and our behaviours, or their omissions
Results showed how the second procedure was more effective in inducing emotional states
Summary
We usually experience a feeling of guilt when we recognize ourselves as the cause of another person’s misfortune Beyond this main meaning, guilty feelings might arise in different situations. The intrapsychic theory states the inner moral rules and values we have learned and introjected since early stages of our lives, resulting in Freud so called “Super-Io”, one of the most fundamental structures of our psyche According to this approach, guilt represents the emotional result of a conflict between our introjected moral authority rules and values, and our behaviours, or their omissions. Its evolutionary function is the respect of others’ rights and of authority In this view, guilt concerns with the feeling of having disobeyed to one’s own inner moral values, even without really acting or sharing with others. The person feeling guilty has the feeling of being a “bad person” (Lewis, 1971)
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